Wanna hear some terrific Black Metal? Do you want to hear something that’s going to tear your face right off? Of course you do!
Sammath (one of my favourite Black Metal bands) have put a number of demo tracks from their as-yet-unreleased follow up to “Triumph in Hatred” online. You can stream these demos at both Sammath’s YouTube and Soundcloud pages. I have also included the Soundcloud widgets below:
There are also a few downloads available (both new and old tracks) from Sammath’s BandCamp page.
There’s no news on when the album will be released at the moment.
Unfortunately I don’t have any direct links at this time, but I’m pleased to reveal that “Stormwinds of Ages” – the highly anticipated album from Texas Dark Symphonic Metallers Vesperian Sorrow is now available for pre-order.
The following message was left on the band’s official Facebook page:
“Very cool, we just discovered that the new album “Stormwinds of Ages” is available for Pre-Order through Barnes and Noble, Best Buy, Amazon and a few others. Get your copy!!!!”
Below you can check out one of the tracks from the album:
The Swedish riff-lords Grand Magus have revealed the artwork for their upcoming album. The album is called “The Hunt”.
JB gave the following comment:
“Arik Roper is a super-talented artist and we’ve had the pleasure of working with him before when he did the cover art for our album Iron Will. This time around with the overall feel and lyrical themes of our new album THE HUNT, Arik was the perfect choice once again. We basicallly just gave him the title and he created one of the most haunting and suggestive images ever seen. He totally nailed what the album is all about. To say we are pleased is a gigantic understatement! This piece of art will stand the test of time and become classic.”
“The Hunt” will be released on the 25th May 2012 via Nuclear Blast.
Note from Lou: I’m very excited about this one… Oh, and as a side note… Here’s a bit of a warning to those attending Bloodstock this year: It’s extremely likely that I will attempt to demonstrate my lack of vocal skills if/when “Kingslayer” is played. Just so you know…
Norway’s Dark Essence Records have today announced the signing of Bergen-based post-metal crew KRAKOW who have just recorded their 2nd full-length album, “diin”, with producer Iver Sandøy (TRINACRIA, MANNGARD).
Commenting on the signing, label head Martin Kvam said:
“KRAKOW have taken a huge step forward and upwards with this beast of an album, creating a unique sound and atmosphere that is entirely their own, and we are very proud to have them on our label”. “diin” is scheduled for release in September of this year.
Formed in 2005 by Frode Kilvik (bass, vocals), Kjartan Grønhaug (guitar) and René Misje (guitar, vocals), KRAKOW recorded their first three-track demo within a couple of months of being together and went on to release their “Dusty Roads” EP in 2007. The band’s debut album “Monolith” appeared in 2009. Initially drawing their inspiration from bands such as ISIS, NEUROSIS, IRON MAIDEN and MASTODON, KRAKOW have gone their own way, producing a sound that is at times dark, evocative and beautiful, at other times fast and aggressive or heavy and mesmerizing. It’s with difficulty that anyone can pin a genre on KRAKOW but the names most mentioned when talking about the band are post-rock, metal and stoner rock. KRAKOW’s line up was recently expanded to include drummer Ask Ty Arctander of KAMPFAR and MONDVOLLAND. More information about KRAKOW can be found at facebook.com/krakowband
Below you can see fan-filmed footage of KRAKOW performing the track “Mound” live at the Nouveau Casino in Paris in 2011.
facebook.com/krakowband
krakowofficial.com
soundcloud.com/krakow_band
darkessencerecords.no
Note from Lou: Alright, this piece has taken me a while to get online… I blame the gremlins… or maybe I was just getting ready for the album to be released… yes, that’s it…
Bloodstock 2011. By www.facebook.com/audrey.dujardin.photography
I swear modern technology chooses the most inopportune times to fail on me. The evening of the 23rd February 2012 was one such occasion. Let me set the scene for you…
It all started so well; I’d set up Skype on my new computer and found some nifty software to record my Skype calls. Now, I’m not in the habit of recording calls, it’s just that this one was special. This one was with a drummer called Alkolust to talk about the band that he has spent a decade of his life working on. That band was Hellish Outcast.
Eventually the time came to make the call and everything slid into place. Despite a slightly dodgy connection at times, we were able to discuss Hellish Outcast and their forthcoming album, “Your God Will Bleed” at great length. After around half an hour, we said our goodbyes and, within in milliseconds of pressing the ‘close’ button on the Skype window, my recording software informed that there had been a fatal error and that all of the data had been lost. ‘Fatal Error’: two words to strike panic into the mind of any computer user! So, I did what any normal person would do… I swore at the computer (using a variety of words), got a beer and tried to recover the file. Since you’re reading this instead of viewing a lovely video or listening to Alkolust’s voice through your computer speakers, you’ve probably come to the conclusion that I was not successful. If that was your conclusion, you’d be right. After a bit more swearing and a bit more beer, I decided to write up the key points of the discussion right here.
Alkolust’s journey into the world of metal is a familiar one – it’s a story that many of us can relate to. Back in his youth, when he was only aware of music like “Madonna and Michael Jackson”, Alkolust was hanging out with some friends, getting drunk on someone’s Dad’s liquor when someone pulled out an album by some band called Metallica. As soon as the music started playing, the group of friends went crazy, throwing themselves around the living room. For Alkolust, it was that moment when he realised that he wanted to get involved in this music, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Hellish Outcast were formed in Bergen, Norway around ten years ago by Alkolust (drums), Mads Mowinckel (bass) and Martin Legried (guitar). The band’s terrific live shows, work ethic and talent cemented their reputation as one of the best bands on Bergen’s underground scene. Within moments of talking to Alkolust about Hellish Outcast, it’s indisputably clear that he is very proud of the band he describes as ‘his baby’. And rightly so. When Hellish Outcast play, they’re out for blood and there is no compromise. “When I’m on stage I go crazy, I’m like that Muppet; the Cookie Monster.” Alkolust explained (although I’m pretty sure he meant Animal). “With Death Metal, there’s nothing more boring than a band that just stands there and tries to play as fast or as heavy as they can.” I witnessed Hellish Outcast’s live show at last year’s Bloodstock and I can say without any doubt that ‘boring’ is not the word to describe this band. Also, you’ve got to remember, when Hellish Outcast played at Bloodstock last year, they hadn’t even released a full length album or been signed. It looks like whoever made that booking had done it solely on the strength of Hellish Outcast’s live performances and their EP, “Raping – Killing – Murder”. That’s not to say that there aren’t hiccups every now and then, so I asked Alkolust if stuff ever went wrong onstage. “I wouldn’t say that stuff goes wrong, it’s just that stuff happens” was his reply with a sly smile. One such incident was at Bloodstock when his monitor had a disagreement with gravity and decided to fall to the ground. As you may have gathered, this didn’t put off a pro like Alkolust, he just kept on playing. “I don’t like it when the crew comes onstage, it ruins the connection with the crowd”.
But, that was then and this is now. The band have now been signed to UK label Transcend Music and their first full length album, “Your God Will Bleed”, is set for worldwide release on 1st April 2012. Alkolust assured me that despite the timing of the release date this “is not an April Fool, it is not a joke!”. Thank fuck for that! And, with a UK label backing them, a UK tour looks to be a “priority for this year”. As soon as a London date is announced I am there with bells on! Well, maybe not literally with bells on… unless I want to start a new craze of Morris Moshing. For some reason, I can’t see that catching on though…
Although Hellish Outcast haven’t played a full tour on our little island yet, Alkolust is no stranger to the UK. Our bearded warrior was over here a couple of weeks ago on a press tour to promote the album and he was over here last year to play in London with his former band, Byfrost. It seems that the United Kingdom appeals to him. “There are music fans everywhere – there’s always a dark little room somewhere with a gig going on.”
Hellish Outcast’s line-up is completed by vocalist Thebon, who is probably best known for being in Keep of Kalessin. Thebon has gelled inexplicably well with the rest of the band and his talents have certainly impressed Alkolust. “He has such an amazing range, right from the high end screams to the low guttural stuff” Alkolust said of his colleague. “I really noticed this on one of the tracks from ‘Reptilian’, the last Keep of Kalessin album. He was exactly what we were looking for.”
The band may have been around for the past ten years, but Hellish Outcast’s brand of Blackened Death Thrash Metal (I really don’t know how to categorise it – but it seems to cover all of those bases!) is here to stay. “Your God Will Bleed” should prove to be the thing that launches this band in extreme metal’s collective consciousness. If it doesn’t, there is something severely wrong with this world!
“You Will Bleed” will be released on 1st April 2012 and be ordered directly through Transcend Records’ official webshop – as well as a variety of other online retailers 
You can whet your appetite for the album, by checking out the tracks below:
hellishoutcast.com
facebook.com/HELLISHOUTCAST
myspace.com/hellishoutcast
twitter.com/hellishoutcast
